Battery holding device



Oct. 14, 1952 c. A. NEWBY ET AL 2,613,755

BATTERY HOLDING DEVICE Filed Dec. 16, 1949 INVENTORS. C'%a'r/es i Aewfy. Ian M. Sfezrzireciez 2:2 ";Z M "MM/24- ,yrraxuzya Patented Oct.14, 1952 BATTERY HOLDING DEVICE Charles A. Newby, Hazel Park, and Don W.Steinbrecher, Detroit, Mich., assignors to Chrysler Corporation,Highland Park, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application December 16,1949, Serial No. 133,334

" The; present invention relates to devices for holding articles inplace, and in particular pro- 'vides' improved hold-down means adaptedto be fitted over automobile storage batteries to hold 'them' in place.

;"It will be seen from a complete understanding of the presentinvention, that it may be applied to'holding down or otherwisecooperating with a wide variety of objects, and that the inven -tivefeatures thereof may be embodied in widely' differing forms. Thepreferred use of the invention, however, is as a so-called hold-downdevice for holding vehicle "storage batteries in place within the framesor boxes ordinarily provided therefor.

In accordance with conventional practice, vehicle storage batteries aresomewhat loosely received within a support provided therefor at asuitable point in the vehicle. In order tosecure thebattery within'thissupport and to prevent rattling thereof, it is common practice toprovide a frame which fits over the top of the battery, and whileexposing the upper surface thereof,

serves 'with other means to clamp the battery. in, its support. It hasbeen proposed to provide the' frame with a plurality of upwardlyextending lips for receiving an improved type of clip ata plurality oflocations. Objects of the present invention are to pro'-.

vide an improved hold-down device of the above generally indicatedcharacter which may be 'readilyapplied to conventional batteries andsecured thereto at a, plurality of locations; to provide such a devicewith an improved clamp which distributes the .stress applied thereto to.35

more than one location on and over a substantial area of the frame; andto provide a holddown device which may be economically and rapidlyproduced and which may be readily and as viewed in the direction of thearrow 2 of" Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fi 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the battery and holddown device shown in Fig.1.

1 Claim. (Cl. 1 8068.5)

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of thenovel clip used in our invention.

In Fig. 1 we have shown a portion of a vehicle in which a conventionalvehicle storage battery III of box-like configuration is seated upon' apan-like support 9 located underneath the hood of a motor vehicle.Thesupport is provided with two upstanding bolts II and I2 which areused to secure the battery III on the support. To accomplish thissecurement, the battery is provided with a rectangular frame member,generally designated by the'numeral I3, which fits over the upperhorizontal edges of the battery box and extends downwardly adjacent thesides of the battery box. The frame member I3 comprises four pieces ofmetal of L-shaped cross sectional configuration which are welded, or insomeother similar fashion, secured at their ends 'so that they make up aframe in the form of a rectangle. The frame member I3 comprises foursubstantially horizontal engaging sections I4, I5, lfiand II which areintegrally connected to depending vertical supporting sections I8, I9,20 and 2|, respectively. The width of the vertical and horizontalsections may vary in accordance with the size of the battery but thewidths should be governed by the amount of support needed as well as thedistance of the binding posts, such as 22 and 23, of the battery II)from the side portions of the battery box. The horizontal sections I5and II are parallel and each is provided with an upwardly and inwardlyinclined lip 24 and 25, respectively, the function of which will behereinafter explained. Similarly, the horizontal sections I4 and I6which are parallelare provided with upwardly extending inclined lips 26and 2'I,the function of which will similarly be hereinafter explained.Unlike the lips 24 and '25 which extend substantially the entire lengthof the inner lateral edge of the sections I5 and II, the lips 26 and 21extend approximately only half way across the sections I4 and I6,respectively, so that cable connectors 28 and 290i the posts 22 and 23,respectively, may lead from the post without encountering a raised lip.

As shown in the drawings, the upstanding bolts II and I2 are disposedadjacent the sections I9 and 2| of the frame member I3. In order thatthe bolts may be secured to the frame member I3 so that the battery I0may be held in place, we have provided new and improved coupling membersor clamps, generally designated by the numeral 30, for operativelyconnecting the bolts to the frame member. The clamp 30 comprises asubstantially horizontal portion 3| of trapezoidal configuration whichhas an integrally connected depending portion I32 which makes an angleof approximately 45 with the horizontal portion 3I and duringapplication of the clip, bracingly supports the portion 3|. The free endextremity of the horizontal portion 3| is provided with a dependingvertical flange 3 2 to insure positive engagement of the clamp with-theframe member and preferably with the edge portion of one of its inclinedlips. The horizontal portion 3I is also provided with a hole 33 forreceiving the bolt II while the depending portion I32 is provided with arelatively largev slot 34 which permits the bolt wardly therethrough.

In the application of the clamp to the frame member I3, as more clearlyshown in Figs. 2 and 3, the flange 32 is positioned to engage the lip25, the horizontal portion 3| extending outwardly therefrom so that thefree end of the depending portion I32 engages the vertical section 2| ofthe frame member I3. In this manner, the bolt II extends upwardlythrough the slot 34 and .the hole 33 and receives a nut and washerassembly on the end thereof. The washer of this assembly engages thehorizontal portion 3I of-the clamp 30 adjacent the periphery of the hole33 and exerts pressure downwardly in response to tightening ofthe nut.When the nut is tightened, pressure is exerted by the flange 32 and the.free end of the, depending portion I32 on the/lip 25 and the verticalsection 2I, respectively. It may be seen, therefore, that pressureisequally distributed between thehorizontal and vertical sections whichis obviously advantageous since neither section is required to carry theentire load.

I As illustrated in the drawings, the battery holddoWn frame is providedwith .two clamps which cooperate with the boltsI I and I2 for holdingthe frame on the battery and urging. the battery against the pan 9. Itshould benoted, however, that. the lips 24 and 25 extend approximatelythroughout the major length of the inner lateral edges of the sectionsI5 and I7 and therefore, the clamps 30 may be utilized at any locationwhere thefiange 32 can engage the lip provided that the associatedsupport means, such as the bolts II and I2, extend upwardly at such alocation.

The clamps 30 may also be secured at the short ends of the frame I3 byengagement with the lips 26 and 27. In this manner the clamps would bedisposed diagonally from each other, leaving space at one side of eachfor the passage of the connectors 28 and 29. a

We have found that the use of a slot in the depending portion I32 addsto' the versatility of our improved clamp. The slot 34 does notlimit theangle at which the bolt extends to the clamp. The clamp could thereforebe applied to batteries which are not held down by bolts thatareperfectly vertical.

By employing our improved type of battery hold-down device, the clampsmaybe disposed at various locations depending on the locations of toextend down- I 4 the bolts II and I2. Also our improved clampdistributes the stresses applied to it to both the horizontal andvertical sections of the frame thereby eliminating undue stress at anyone point of the clamp or any one section of the frame Which isfrequently the cause of failure.

The frame and clamps maybe made of metallic 'or non metallic materialsbut is preferably made of metallic materials having coatings which areresistant to the acids commonly used in vehicle storage batteries.

While we have illustrated and described but one embodiment of ourinvention, it is to be under- 1 stood that such is for the purpose ofillustration only, audit i contemplated that those skilled in the artmay modify certain details without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention as defined in the claim appended hereto.

We claim:

Apparatus for releasably clamping a battery in a predetermined location,including a supporting member for receiving the bottom of said battery,a pair'of hold-down bolts each locatedadjacent a diflerent sidewall ofsaid batteryrespectively, a frame member receivableon the upperextremity of said battery including angular side members having top andside sections substantially parallel to the upperextremity and sidewalls respectively of said battery, an elongated raised lip on the freeedges of said top sections of at least two of said frame side members, apair of clamping members each. engageable with one of said side membersof said frame at a plurality of locations thereon and each including. afirst section having a flange interlockingly engageable with one ofsaidraised lips-respectively and a second section inclined at an acute angleto said first section and having an edge engageable with said sidesection of one of said side members respectively for bracingly holdingsaid first section of said clamping member in a plane generally parallelto the upper extremity of aid battery, said first and second sections ofeach of said .clamping members having registering openings therein forreceiving one of said hold-down bolts respectively,

and means on said hold-down'bolts engageable with said first sections ofsaid clamping members for retaining said clamping members in selectedfixed positions relative to'said frameand securely fixing said batteryagainst movement relative to said support.

' 7 CHARLES A. NEWBY.

DON Wt STEINBRECHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in'the file ofthis patent: 1 i

UNITED, STATES feATENTs 2,491,997 Meyer Dec. 20, 1949

